A day after designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over false allegations of Christian genocide, US President Donald Trump has threatened military action against the country.
In a post made on Truth Social on Saturday, Mr Trump warned that the US military might be ordered to invade the country and “wipe out the radical Islamic terrorist” responsible for the claimed attacks on Christians if the Nigerian government fails to act.
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“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” he wrote.
Mr Trump also warned that the US will halt all aid to Nigeria, while noting that he has ordered the Department of War to prepare for possible military action.
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He stated that the US military action against Nigeria would be “fast, vicious, and sweet.”
He wrote in capital letters, “Warning: The Nigerian government better move fast.”
The Nigerian government earlier denied allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria, following Mr Trump’s claim that Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu pointed out that such portrayals made by Mr Trump do not reflect the country’s reality.
He also said that the country strictly upholds the constitutional guarantees of religious liberty and does not encourage religious intolerance.
READ ALSO: Tinubu replies Trump, says Nigeria upholds religious freedom
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” he said
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also earlier stated that Nigeria is committed to tackling the violent extremism “fueled by special interests who have helped drive such decay and division in countries across the intersecting West African and Sahel regions.”
Meanwhile, the designation of Nigeria as a country of concern followed months of campaigns and demands by some Republican lawmakers for the US to sanction Nigeria for allowing the “persecution of Christians.”
The officials had also falsely accused the federal government of facilitating this anti-Christian crusade in an attempt to rid the country of Christians.
